Early School Leavers

EARLS SCHOOL LEAVERS: WHO FAILS AND WHY?

DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT:

This unit will portray one of the most challenging topics in the European education policy. After having offered an overview (definition, figures, recent evolution, European targets), a case study will be presented: Spain, one of the countries with the highest rate of ESL and huge differences between regions. Some other European projects concerning this issue will also be discussed and some proposals as well as further reflections will be suggested.

OBJECTIVES:

Reflect on own experiences with ESL
Determine different situations that could lead to ESL
Examine different variables (cultural, economical, personal, educational…) that are involved in ESL
Evaluate and compare the educational policy measures put into practice in their countries or regions
Justify visions about this issue
Propose ways of preventing ESL through a regional approach

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of this unit the learners will have...

… become aware of this issue that affects more than four million of young people in Europe
… acquired some theoretical background related to this issue and its relevance
… reflected on their own experiences with ESL
… established links between ESL and unemployment, social exclusion, poverty and poor health
… interpreted data and figures on ESL after having made these connections
… proposed ways of preventing ESL

APPLIED METHODOLOGIES:

Basic information
Case study learning
Independent learning – Students will need to think of early school leavers that they already know and consider how/why they became ESL
Collaborative learning – Students will share their “cases” with students from different countries
Inquiry learning – The open questions are supposed to facilitate new questions and some answers

REFERENCES:

Video

Tackling Early School Leaving (European Commission). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmhiu392AOA (1:56 video)

Official information

European Commission (2016). European Semester Thematic Factsheet. Early School Leavers. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/european-semester_thematic-factsheet_early-school-leavers_en.pdf
European Commission (2018). Education and training. Supporting education and training in Europe and beyond. Early School leaving. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/school/early-school-leavers_en
Eurostat (2018). Statistics Explained. Early leavers from education and training. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Early_leavers_from_education_and_training

Published materials

De Witte, K.; Nicaise, I.; Lavrijsen, J.; Van Landeghem, G.; Lamote, C. & Jan Van Damme, J. (2013). The Impact of Institutional Context, Education and Labour Market Policies on Early School Leaving: a comparative analysis of EU countries. European journal of education: research, development and policy, 48 (3), 331-345. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12034
Fernández-Macías, E. ; Antón, J.I. ; Braña, F.J. & Muñoz de Bustillo, R. (2013). Early School‐leaving in Spain: evolution, intensity and determinants. European journal of education: research, development and policy, 48 (1), 150-164. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12000